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One year on from the tragic events in the U.S, CEO Warren East talks about what we've learned and what we're doing to make more inclusive workplaces and communities for all our people.
It is one year since George Floyd was murdered in America - an event that shocked the world and sparked social unrest.
Many of our people have felt hurt, fearful, anxious and angry, with feelings particularly acute amongst our black and other ethnic minority colleagues.
I too was challenged and saddened by what happened, and by the stories of racial injustice we continue to hear today. As you know, we do not tolerate bullying, harassment or discrimination of any kind, by any one - this includes any form of racism. It simply has no place in our business, or indeed any part of our lives. In being part of Rolls-Royce, we all have a responsibility to play our part in ensuring racism does not exist in our company.
When it comes to creating a truly inclusive environment there is always more we can do to change, and so we must always listen, and we must always be willing to hear and act upon what we are told.
By listening and becoming allies we can take the right steps to help change - within our small part of a much wider world - what is a systemic issue. Proper listening means we must always make sure people have the confidence to speak up and share their own experience. This is where the positive change does exist. I have been heartened to see that colleagues around the business are feeling that they have a voice and that that voice is being heard, and I can see continued positive change in that over the last 12 months.
Over the past year we have:
- Held listening sessions with our Employee Resources Groups (ERGs) - including our Black Employee Network (BEN) in the U.S and our African & Caribbean Pioneers Network (ACPN) in the UK - to understand what more we need to do
- Continued our ongoing programme to eradicate bullying and harassment and ensure we treat everyone with dignity and respect
- Celebrated UK Black History Month in October and U.S Black History Month in February as an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of our teams, help us all learn about and understand the issues, and be clearer on the changes we need to make in Rolls-Royce
- Refreshed our ethnicity ambitions and targets for increasing racial diversity and representation in our workforce as part of our 2025 D&I Strategy
- Welcomed Mary FitzPatrick in mid-April 2021 as our new Group Head of Diversity & Inclusion - part of our commitment to accelerate our strategy and ensure that D&I remains central to our future success
- Flown our 'We stand together' flag at Rolls-Royce workplaces
- In June, we're launching new mandatory learning for all colleagues - helping each of us understand why and how we can create more inclusive teams
- Later this year we'll launch a global leadership program for Black, Asian and other ethnic groups to enable a more diverse group of people to thrive in leadership roles.
We know there is more to be done. We will continue to learn and take action to improve for all our people. Our Group and local D&I Councils work in partnership with our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to help ensure that diverse voices are heard and that we collectively promote equality and inclusion for all.
Change of this magnitude takes time; some days we'll feel the progress we're making, others less so. What matters is that we do not lose sight of where we want to be, understand what we must to do get there, and be resolute in pursuing this objective.
We encourage all our people to continue to communicate their thoughts and ideas with our leaders. We are here for them and remain absolutely committed to doing the right thing. We care about creating an environment where we can all be at our best.
Warren East
CEO
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Rolls-Royce Holdings plc published this content on 25 May 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 25 May 2021 11:14:00 UTC.
